1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shredding machines and, more particularly, to paper shredding machines which are adapted to shred high volumes of paper over extended periods of time. The present invention includes a new and novel arrangement of combers which are heavy-duty in nature and which efficiently direct and comb the material being shredded in an effective and efficient manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is replete with numerous forms of shredding machines and apparatus, many of which are susceptible to jamming when confronted with any substantial volume of paper to be shredded. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,178,386, 1,139,355, 1,319,496, 1,930,246, 2,202,843, 2,236,969, 2,554,114, 2,770,302, 3,033,064 and 3,797,765 are typical of the prior art patents relating to paper shredding machines. Each one of these patents attempts to improve in one form or another the performance characteristics of the shredding machine, yet fails to treat one of the basic features that has an important performance impact on the machine. This basic feature is the comber which, as the name implies, combs the material being shredded so that it efficiently is cut and moved through the shredding machine. A number of the prior art approaches include the provision of sheet metal stampings which are formed integrally with the housing. This form of comber is particularly flimsy and will become distorted and bent when there is any substantial jamming up of the paper to be shredded. Such bending of the combers can have a substantially detrimental effect on the machine in that the housing itself may become seriously damaged requiring replacement of a number of expensive parts. Furthermore, the shredding machine in question will also be disabled for a substantial period of time. Other prior art approaches include the provision of more sturdy combers which are rigidly mounted in the housing. As these machines experience an overload they will jam causing similar serious damage to the machine including the drive shafts and their supports.